Assembly Republicans have elected a new leader...and he’s the first from San Diego to hold such a post in decades.

George Plescia will take over next month for minority leader Kevin McCarthy, who’s running for Congress. Plescia was elected unanimously by the caucus, and says when he started his career as a staffer, he never dreamed this would happen…but he’s up for the challenge:

“I have big shoes to fill. Kevin’s done one heck of a job for this caucus. The most important thing was he took our views and kept us together as a team and proved what we could do when we stayed 32 strong.”

McCarthy, who will remain the chief negotiator on bond issues, says he expects great things from Plescia:

“He’s prepared for this job better than most people have been in the past. I came in as a freshman. George has been part of this leadership team from day 1.”

Assembly speaker Fabian Nunez says there are some similarities between the outgoing and incoming leaders…and he looks forward to working with Plescia.